it's very challenging these days with all the different styles of learning
Hi Stephen,
This is a great approach. It gives the students a sense of common learning through input from an expert but also from their own self discovery of learning. You are helping to draw together the essential learning components for the students while they develop the retention of content that they need for success.
Gary
I have found that understanding a students fears and motivations IS the difference in a succesful course or an unsuccesful one. In my experiences, I have always tried to put myself forward as not a teacher in the sense of the "Me teacher - You student" mentality. I try to make them understand and see me as more of a mentor, and a member of the team. the team that has the ultimate goal of the students gaining a higher education. My role in the team is team leader and facilitator, but I am a member of the team. This tends to reduce some of the fears by letting the students know that they can talk to me about the situations that are holding up the progress of "the team". And letting them know that I CAN help them. Also, in approaching classes like this I can get an almost immediate feel for where their motivations lie. They will tend to have a higher trust level in me, and so confide in me about things they usually may not. Interestingly enough, this also helps to eliminate frustrations, and put a stopper on much of the questioning of rules. So it has been my experience that playing the role of Team leader has improved my student's classroom experiences all around.
Understanding of learner characteristics helps
tremendously because it shows the student that
the instructor cares about the success of each
individual in the class.
By allowing the instructor to better understand the needs of the student which in turn can give the student a better success achievement.
Hi John,
This is very true. If you do not have tolerance and flexibility there will be some very long days in the classroom. Good advice for all teachers.
Gary
Hi George,
Good point about thinking outside of the box. This is the fun part of being an instructor. We get to be creative and innovative which keeps us from becoming bored with what we do. Being fresh and excited helps to keep our students engaged in the learning process.
Gary
Hi David,
What a great and comfortable way to start a class. Your approach should do much to reduce the fears of your students while letting them get settled into the course.
Gary
Teaching a class with mixed generational differences can be quite challenging, however, whether you are an experienced teacher or new in teaching, it is important to season your teaching style with a dose of tolerance and flexibility.
When you understand learner characteristics you can engineer your lessons to be beneficial to more than one learning style, rather that continuing to teach to your learning style which is usually your default. you have to think outside the box to be a successful instructor.
it allows you to have the same perspective view as the one your students have from the first day. In other words by understanding the different fears and aprehensions that our students might have I can prepare to diffuse right from thr start. On the first day of a new class I give my credentials and some brief history of myself usually with a short funny story to show that I am human just like they are, and then I go around the room to find out about the students and why they came and what they plan to accomplish once they are done with classes. I then try to mix the students into small groups with little projects a couple times the first 3 weeks of class to get them all workinhg together. By understanding the different learner characteristics I hopefully plan to diffuse any bd situations so learning can remain fun.
When I learn that a student learns best when certain methods of instructional delivery then I will start to implement the method for my future lectures.
Hi Hillary,
Great to hear about your positive experiences as a beginning instructor. You are doing the right things as you develop your skills as an instructor. I am excited about your success and know that you are going to have many enjoyable interactions with your students.
Gary
I think that understanding a student's learner characteristics is the key to the beginning a of a successful learning and completion of the required subject and training process.
This has been my first quarter teaching and so much of my initial getting to know the students and assessing where they are at was intuitive and common sense derived. The first day of class I asked each student (it is a small design class of 12) to introduce themselves, if they had a nickname or derivation of their name that they preferred, what area of fashion design they enjoyed best, where they felt they struggled and who they admired or what market they were interested in so far. This seemed to be a good ice breaker and gave me a quick first-sense of how they interacted with me, their perceived level of enthusiasm.
It was also useful for me to underscore their strengths after their first in class project to allay their fears and increase their confidence so they could relax and stay motivated.
After reading the modules in this course I feel validated that I was on the right track. Most of my students' work from the achiever to the less-motivated or those with some obstacles has greatly improved and I think that understanding learner characteristics is paramount in achieving this end.
Understanding one's audience is the key to communication, whether it's making a presentation in the front of the class or writing a message to the online learner. Successful communication requires two parts: the sender and the receiver. The sender must understand, on a basic level, the receiver, in order for the message to be transmitted correctly.
Once one gains an understanding of learner characterics, one can plan instruction accordingly. For example, if the chacteristics are low technical skills, the instructional process must include more elaborate and detailed instructions.
In general, instruction should be age, gender, and culturally neutral to "hit" all students. This should be a requirement prior to any instructional planning process.
This helps by giving me or the instructor an insite of what we would need to cover and how to approach our instructional process. If we understand the students needs and how their minds work and what they expect, It would help us cover all that is needed to the best of our abilities. I tend to use what I enjoyed when I was in school. I keep in mind what bored me and what excited me. I loved when I was able to interact without being put on the spot so I try this and try to get feedback from my students which is usually extremely difficult.
Hi David,
You are right about needing to know about the characteristics of your students. This information will help with planning the different delivery methods. There are many different variables that influence learning and as instructors the more we know about them the more effective our instruction will be.
Gary
Well, there are studies done that show a student might learn better when listening to classical music, or one learns better in a very quiet environment. Anyway, learner characteristics are very important and an educator must understand his/her students and the ways of they learn better and more effective.
David Moradian
Hi Rehema,
You are right about needing to know how different students react to certain situations as well as their learning preferences. This helps with the planning aspects of the course to better meet individual student needs.
Gary
It helps in shaping the learning activities, so we can meet the learning objectives. I can really tailor my lessons and how we go about implementing them so students are getting the most out of their educational experience.
Also, some students like instructions and space to work...while others want to discuss what they learned and like to spend time in your office hours. Each student's needs will be different. And knowing those differences will allow for me to get the best out of each student.
